Admission

Application Dates

Siena College Students

Students may apply anytime upon completion of the junior year.    

The Graduate Admissions Committee meets on a regular basis and will inform students of the decision usually within 1 month of receipt of the completed application.

Non Siena Students

General admissions deadlines are :

• November 1 for the spring semester
• June 1 for the fall semester

The Graduate Admissions Committee meets on a regular basis and will inform students of the decision usually within 1 month of receipt of the completed application.

OVERVIEW

The Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) degree program at Siena College is a rigorous thirty-hour program offered by the AACSB-accredited School of Business. The Siena MSA is a registered New York State program that satisfies the 150-hour educational requirement for candidates to sit for the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) licensure exam in New York. As such, admission standards for the MSA program reflect the high academic quality that is required for a student to be successful in the program.

Interested applicants are welcome to apply after completion of eighty-four (84) hours of college credits, including at least eighteen (18) hours of accounting credits. [Occasionally, students may apply with fifteen (15) hours of accounting credits, and be accepted on a Conditional basis.]  See paragraph 2c.)  Applications are normally reviewed on a rolling admissions basis beginning no later than October 15th for the upcoming Spring semester and no later than February 15th for the upcoming Summer and Fall semesters.  

Academic Admission Requirements 

For Siena students

1. Standard Admission without GMAT:  Siena student applicants are expected to have a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.00 and to have achieved a grade of at least a “B” in at least 4 of their 5 junior level required accounting major courses (Intermediate Accounting I and II, Tax Accounting, Cost Accounting, and Accounting Information Systems).  The GMAT exam is not required for Siena students in this category. 
2. Standard Admission with GMAT: Siena student applicants in this category are expected to have achieved an overall undergraduate GPA of between 2.80 and 3.00 and to have achieved a grade of at least a “B” in at least 4 of their 5 junior level required accounting major courses (Intermediate Accounting I and II, Tax Accounting, Cost Accounting, and Accounting Information Systems). The GMAT exam and a total score of at least 450 is required for Siena students in this category.
3. Conditional Standard Admission: As appropriate, Siena student applicants may be granted Standard Admission to the MSA program, subject to specific conditions. Examples of conditions might include, but are not limited to: successful completion of a specific course, attainment of a specific grade in a specific course, or repeating a course. Any applicable conditions will be fully detailed in the Standard Admissions letter.

Motivated Siena students who do not meet the requirements of either Section 2a or 2b are encouraged to pursue an alternative path for admission under “Section 4 – Provisional Academic Admission.”

For Non-Siena Students

1. Students from Other AACSB Accredited Institutions:   Non-Siena student applicants from other AACSB Accredited institutions, without an articulation agreement,  are expected to have achieved a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.1 (overall), and to have achieved a grade of at least a “B” in at least 4 of the 5 following courses, or equivalent courses: Intermediate Accounting I and II, Tax Accounting, Cost Accounting, and Accounting Information Systems. These student applicants are expected to take the GMAT exam and to achieve a total score of at least 450.  However, applicants with an overall GPA > 3.5, at the time of application, may request a waiver of the GMAT requirement. 
2. Students from Institutions that are Not AACSB-Accredited: Students from Non-AACSB Accredited institutions are encouraged to inquire about admission to the MSA Program. Each student’s application will be administered and evaluated on an individualized basis.
3. Non-Siena Students Entering Under an Articulation Agreement: Students seeking admission to the MSA program under an Articulation Agreement should refer to the specific Articulation Agreement that has been entered into between their undergraduate institution and Siena College.
4. International Students: Student applicants from non-U.S. undergraduate institutions are encouraged to inquire about admission to the MSA Program. Each student’s application will be administered and evaluated on an individualized basis.  It is important to realize that international student applicants may have to complete significant additional foundational coursework beyond what may appear on the student’s transcript.  This can include, but is not limited to, business law (including the Uniform Commercial Code), financial accounting, taxation, accounting information systems, and auditing courses at Siena College.  For an applicant whose native language is not English, the applicant must provide proof of having met at least one of the English language proficiency requirements established by Siena College for undergraduate students.
5. Conditional Standard Admission: As appropriate, non-Siena student applicants may be granted Standard Admission to the MSA program, subject to specific conditions. Examples of conditions might include, but are not limited to: successful completion of a specific course, attainment of a specific grade in a specific course, or repeating a course. Any applicable conditions will be fully detailed in the Standard Admissions letter.

Motivated non-Siena students who do not meet the requirements under Sections 3a-d are encouraged to pursue an alternative path for admission under “Section 4 – Provisional Academic Admission.”

Provisional Academic Admission

Provisional Academic Admission to the MSA program is possible for highly-motivated applicants who have not been able to reach the minimum academic requirements for Standard Admission to the MSA program. Students applying for Provisional Academic Admission are expected to evidence strength in areas other than academic achievement.  Successful provisional students typically evidence valuable attributes such as perseverance, growth potential, leadership, professionalism, significant voluntarism, diversity, etc. [Provisionally-admitted students are limited in number to no more than 10% of the total number of students admitted to the MSA program.]

Each student applicant in this category must achieve and/or supply the following:

1. Oveall G.P.A of at least 2.50.
2. Total GMAT score of at least 300.
3. Two letters of recommendation from faculty who support the student’s provisional admission to the MSA program. (These two letters are in lieu of the single letter of recommendation required for standard admission.) 
4. Student Provisional Application Letter: Each applicant in this category must provide a “Student Request for Provisional Admission Essay.” (Please note that this Provisional Admission Essay is in addition to the Student Essay required for standard admission.) The “Student Request for Provisional Admission Essay” must address the following:

• An explanation of the difficulties that have prevented the student from meeting the standard academic admission requirements.
• The specific steps that the student will implement in order to be successful in the MSA program.
• A description of the student’s non-academic strengths and how these strengths would benefit the other students in the MSA program.

Students who are admitted as provisional students are subject to a special set of stringent provisional requirements that include, but are not limited to:  academic monitoring and attainment of a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the first semester and/or 9 credit hours. Specifically, a provisionally-admitted student must achieve a minimum of a 3.0 MSA Program GPA by the conclusion of the semester in which he/she completes the 9th semester hour. All classes that count towards the MSA program are included in the MSA Program GPA calculation. If, in the semester in which the student completes the 9th MSA credit hour, the student takes additional MSA courses, the MSA Program GPA at the end of that semester will be used. For example, if a student takes 6 credit hours of MSA classes in the first semester and 6 more credit hours of MSA classes in the second semester, all 12 MSA credit hours will be used to calculate the student’s MSA program GPA. If this 3.0 Minimum MSA program GPA condition is not met, Siena reserves the right to terminate the student’s enrollment in the MSA program. Provisionally-admitted students who do not meet the provisional requirements are subject to dismissal from the MSA program.